Favorite Whiskey?

There's so many! If it's mainly Scotch I don't think you'd go wrong with Oban 14, my current favorite. For about 40% less and pretty darned good there's Monkey Shoulder. I just opened my first bottle of Eduadour 10 and it's really very tasty. I'm still somewhat of a newb so I'm sure others will chime in.

 

Has anyone had a good or bad experience with any of the whiskey clubs where they mail you a bottle each month?

 

A while back I mentioned opening a Willett Pot Still and it not being that great. Tried it again and now really like it. The flavor notes changed a lot with breathing. Plus it had sit on the shelf for months and I didn't turn it over before opening.

I thought the channge was just me so did a side by side test with an unopened bottle and Could tell a difference.

Lesson learned: bourbon is not like a baby -> if you don't like one at first then ignore for a while, shake a little, and try again.

 

Will have to revisit my bottle of pot still. It’s been collecting dust for at least a month.

 

How did you guys get your Wiletts? I’ve never been able to get any in PA

 

I find can find it in WV fairly regularly but always in KY.

There are 5 shops I swing by when I'm passing through KY. Let me know if you ever go there and can get you the names or can grab a bottle for you if you ever head down 79.

 

It hit TX shelves in November or slightly before. Some places still have a few bottles lying around. No huge rush on the stuff... actually saw a 1.75 at Total Wine the other day even after New Years.

 

I got one at Total Wine in Delaware in August. Haven't seen it since but they had a 1.75L bottle on the shelf for quite some time. I bought it for the unique bottle but found it to be verry nice. Everyone that tried it liked it.

 

Of all places! Target had Buffalo ($25) & Booker's 2018-03 ($65)! Didn't expect to find either of them while I was in there. Everything here was a few doll hairs more than Total Wine, but they only have Evan in stock the last couple times I went. These should improve tonight's 'adult game night'!

 

Hoping for a good experience. Awaiting my first bottle this month. GF got it for me as a Xmas gift. I have no idea which one or level she selected.

 

I posted a lot in this thread awhile ago but took a hiatus. Ive been thoroughly enjoying Eagle Rare and if you like rye whiskey like I do, I highly recommend Basil Hayden rye 2x2. It is on top of my favorite ryes right now.

 

I heard about a liquor store that has hard to find (around here) Scotches, bourbons and whiskeys. I decided to drive up, about 20 miles, to see what's what. Sure enough, they had E.H. Taylor Jr small batch, rye, and single barrel. They also had Yamazaki 12, which I've never seen before. There was other stuff like that but the problem is they had huge markups. The E.H. Taylors started at a little over $100 and the Yamazaki was $300. Some of the common stuff was cheaper then Total Wine - Monkey Shoulder for $29. They also had these 2 Bookers for what seemed like a very good price, but @bvbull200 would know more than anyone!

 

@916carl

Price is right on for Bookers. Colonel EHT rye and single barrel in TX is around $65-$70. The small batch is around $40 give or take a few bucks.

 

Back when that 2015-05 came out, you could get it for $55-60 fairly easily. To get it for $60 now is a really nice deal, though. Older batches will pop up for about $65-70 from time to time, but $70-75 seems to be more common. They're $100+ on secondary. When the 2017 batches came out, they swtiched to 4 releases per year instead of 6 and said they were upping the price to differentiate it further from Baker's (part of the Small Batch Collection along with Basil Hayden's and Knob Creek). It was rumored to go up to $100 - I didn't buy a bottle that year in protest. It never made it that high, but the prices did start to creep up. That and the bourbon boom claimed Booker's as another victim - the stuff started disappearing from some shelves as soon as it went up.

That Maw Maw's Batch is really good. It'd be hard to pass up at that price. That's the bottle I hung on to and made a Christmas tree topper out of .

Keep that store in your regular rotation!

 

Stopped by a local liquor store and picked up this for $30...

 

Anyone had this? Place nearby posted it on their FB, they didn't know about it when I called. Might swing in and see what they're selling it for.

 

Just found a shop online selling Suntory Hibiki Japanese Harmony, only about $20 more than when it was available a few years ago. Shipping was another $20 & I have to pick it up from a friend in Vegas when I go next month. Not shipped yet but fingers crossed it's not one of those sites that takes your money before they check their inventory.

 

Having only one bottle left of the three I managed to accumulate I can understand your desire to get a bottle of Hibiki - it's good stuff! IMHO though it's not worth the $100+/- it seems your going to pay.

Have you looked around your area liquor stores? Besides Total Wine and BevMo, I've recenty found (see my post above) some independent stores have stuff the chains don't. Some bottles were cheaper, some much higher. I'd bet you could find one for less than the $40 up charge. And don't discount TW or BevMo - ask someone behind the desk if they have any "allocated" or special bourbons/scotches/etc hiding back there.

 

Which store did you find? I'm curious because based on your screen name we are local to each other.

 

I really haven't checked mom n pop shops. I have an aversion to running errands, more than 2 stops & I'm frustrated to no end lol. I paid a bit of a premium, and it may have been influenced by the Booker's & Buffalo I'm sipping.